Referee’s (Youth Level) – Why They Are Important..

A referee’s role at the youth level is more than just calling fouls. Role should be seen as an extension of a coach. Highlighting mistakes through making the right call, as consistently as possible to re-inforce and teach young players.

Should referees call every travel? If so, at what age?

– I think from te U12/13 level onwards referee’s should consistently make the right calls

I recently watched a U14 game. It was ugly. The score was no longer recorded on the scoreboard. By the 2Q the referee’s basically let travels, 3 seconds, fouls etc go for the sake of the game to run its course quicker. Yes, making the pain for the other team on the not-so-fortunate side is considerate. However, it reinforces poor fundamentals that coaches should be teaching in one of the settings it matters the most, the game.

We can’t expect improvement and consistency of the fundamentally to be switched on and off. Those 2 quarters of poorly officiating may set players back, giving them a false sense of improvement and creating habits harder to break in the future. Every repetition should be coached and officiated correctly to build upon solid fundamentals hopefully taught in practice. What do you think?